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Mulan (film)
Mulan is a 1998 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney feature Animation. It was release in theaters by Walt Disney Pictures on June 19, 1998. The film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was the first of three produced primarily at the animation studio at Disney MGM Studios in Orlanda, Florida. It was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with the story by Robert D. San Souci and Rita Hsiao, among others. Plot When the Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, invade China, each family is given a conscription notice. Mulan's father, Fa Zhou has to serve in the army, but due to his age and previous war injuries, is is doubtful that he would survive. Fa Mulan disguises herself as a man, then takes her father's conscription notice, armor, and weapons so that he will not have to go. She rides away on her horse, Khan, to join the army, knowing that if she were caught she would be killed. Mushu, a small chinese dragon, has been awakened by the family's First Ancestor. Mushu had been demoted to gong ringer after a mishap with one of the ancestors when the other ancestors were awakened. After various choices of which guardian to send after Mulan, he is asked to awaken the "Great Stone Dragon". Mushu accidentally destroys the Dragon but realizes that this could be an opportunity to earn his place among the guardians again if he can make Mulan a war hero. Mulan trains with a group led by Captain Li Shang, including fellow soldiers Ling, Yao, and Chien Po. The troops complete their training, but Chi Fu, the Emperor's meddling and misogynistic advisor, refuses to let them see battle, accusing the troops of being ill prepared. Mushu forges a letter from the General, ordering Shang to take his men to battle. The troops set out to meet General Li, who has already left on a mission. However, Shang and his troops discover that the General and his men were killed in battle. Shang and his troops continue, disheartened by their loss, when they are ambushed by Hun archers. After an initial attack, the Huns are believed to be defeated, but the troops soon discover otherwise. As they are setting up the last cannon to fire at the Huns, Mulan spots a precarious mound of snow on the upper mountainside. As the Huns charge down the mountain Mulan takes the cannon and fires the rocket at the snow mound. The collision of the rocket and the snow mound causes an avalanche which spreads over the charging Huns, burying them. Shang's soldiers take refuge while Mulan rescues Shang from being swept away by the snow. The Chinese soldiers initially cheer for their victory, but quickly become somber after Mulan discovers that she is bleeding; she had been wounded by a swipe of Shan Yu's sword. Shang quickly summons a doctor just as Mulan faints. During treatment, Mulan's true identity is discovered. Shang is notified and is expected to execute Mulan, but spares her life and considers his pardon an exchange for Mulan saving his own life. Instead, Shang expels her from the army. Mulan decides to return home but hears the Huns emerging from the snow that had blanketed them during the earlier battle. She tries to warn Shang's troops as they are heralded by citizens in a parade for their war efforts, but they do not listen. As the Emperor (wikipedia: Pat Morita|Pat Morita) addresses the crowd, the Huns, disguised as parade characters, kidnap him. Shang and his troops try to follow the Huns into the palace but are unsuccessful. Mulan devises a ploy with the other soldiers to dress as concubines, scale a palace wall and infiltrate the palace. When the Huns lower their defenses in the presence of the "women", Mulan and her friends swiftly dispatch them all. During this attack the Emperor is safely removed from the palace by Chien Po, but Shang and Mulan are both trapped on the balcony with Shan Yu. Shan Yu is about kill Shang when Mulan gets his attention. He recognizes her from the mountain battle and gives chase. Mulan lures him onto the palace rooftop where they face each other in personal combat, until Mushu, as arranged by Mulan, propels a huge firecracker that hits Shan Yu and carries him off to his death. The fate of the remaining five Hun warriors is never fully disclosed. The Emperor meets Mulan and, in an accusatory tone, lists Mulan's crimes, but he pardons her. The Emperor then bows to Mulan, which is considered an extremely high honor as it implies being of a higher status than the Emperor, while the hundreds of observers kow-tow (an Eastern bowing position with one's face and palms to the floor). The Emperor then offers Mulan a position in his staff, but Mulan politely refuses the offer and confesses that she wants to return home. He gives her Shan Yu's sword, along with his crest, for her to bring home and give honour to her family. Upon her return, Mulan expects to be reprimanded but is instead embraced by her family. Shang arrives to talk with Mulan, having been encouraged to propose by the Emperor. The ancestors reluctantly agree to make Mushu a guardian once more. Plot (Live Action) Voice Cast :Japanese *'Mayumi Suzuki' as Fa Mulan (Speaking) *'Eri Ito' as Fa Mulan's singing voice *'Koichi Yamadera' as Mushu *'Shintaro Sonooka' as Captain Li Shang *'Yutaka Oda' as Yao *'Ryusei Nakao' as Ling *'Kozo Shioya' as Chien Po *'Yoshito Yasuhara' as Chi-Fu *'the late Chikao Otsuka' as Fa Zhou *'Hisako Kyoda' as Grandmother Fa *'the late Osamu Kobayashi' as The Emperor of China *'the late Toru Ohira' as First Ancestor Fa *'Miyuki Ichijo' as Fa Li *'Tessho Genda' as Generai Li *'Tomie Kataoka' as The Matchmaker *'Frank Welker' as Khan & Cri-Kee *'Chris Sanders' as Little Brother *'Hiroshi Fujioka' as Shan Yu :English *'Ming-Na' as Fa Mulan *'Lea Salonga' as Fa Mulan's singing voice *'Eddie Murphy' as Mushu *'B.D. Wong' as Captain Li Shang *'Donny Osmond' as Shang's singing voice *'Harvey Fierstein' as Yao *'Gedde Watanabe' as Ling *'Matthew Wilder' as Ling's singing voice *'Jerry Tondo' as Chien Po *'James Hong' as Chi-Fu *'the late Soon-Tek Oh' as Fa Zhou *'the late June Foray' as Grandmother Fa *'Marni Nixon' as Grandmother Fa's singing voice *'the late Pat Morita' as The Emperor of China *'George Takei' as First Ancestor Fa *'Freda Foh Shen' as Fa Li *'James Shigeta' as Generai Li *'Miriam Margolyes' as The Matchmaker *'Frank Welker' as Khan & Cri-Kee *'Chris Sanders' as Little Brother *'Miguel Ferrer' as Shan Yu Cast (Live Action) *'Liu Yifei' as Mulan *'Yoson An' as Chen Honghui *'Donnie Yen' as Commander Tung *'Jason Scott Lee' as Bori Khan *'Jet Li' as The Emperor of China *'Ron Yuan' as Sergeant Qiang *'Tzi Ma' as Hua Zhou *'Rosalind Chao' as Ha Li *'Xana Tang' as Hua Xiu aka Mulan's Sister *'Jimmy Wong' as Ling *'Doua Moua' as Po *'Chen Tang' as Yao *'Cheng Pei-Pei' as The Matchmaker *'Utkarsh Amudbkar' as Skath *'Chum Ehelepola' as Ramtish *'Gong Li' as Xian Lang *'Nelson Lee' as The Chancellor *'Jun Yu' as the voice of Cri-Kee Difference Between Live Action and Animated Film Songs *'Honor To Us All' *'Reflection' *'Keep 'Em Guessing' *'I'll Make A Man Out Of You' *'A Girl Worth Fighting For' *'True To Your Heart' :Live Action Film * * * * * * * Animators *Mark Henn (Fa Mulan & Fa Zhou) *Tom Bancroft (Mushu) *Pres Romanillos (Shan Yu, the Falcon & Elite Huns) *Rubert A. Aquino (Li Shang & Fa Li) *Aaron Blaise (Yao & the Fa family ancestors) *Broose Johnson (Chien-Po & Ling) *Alex Kupershmidt (Khan & General Li) *Barry Temple (Cri-Kee) Production Development for Mulan began in 1994, after the production team sent a select group of artistic supervisors to China for three weeks to take photographs and drawings of local landmarks for inspiration; and to soak up local culture The filmmakers decided to change Mulan's character to make her more appealing and selfless and turn the art style closer to chinese pantings, with water color and simpler design - opposed to the details of The Lion King (Film), and Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. To create 2,000 Hun soldiers during the Huns' attack sequence, the production team developed a crowd simulation software called '''Attila'. This software allows thousands of unique characters to move autonomously. A variant of the program called Dynasty was used in the final battle sequence to create a crowd of 3,000 in the Forbidden City. Pixar's photeralistic Rec RenderMan was used to render the crowd. Another software developed for this movie was Faux Plane which was used to add depth to flat two-dimensional painting. Although developed late in production progress, Faux Plane was used in five shots, including the dramatic sequence which features the Great Wall of China, and the final battle sequence when Mulan runs to the Forbidden City. During the scene in which the Chinese are bowing to Mulan, the crowd is a panoramic film of real people bowing. It was edited into the animated foreground of the scene''. The Legend of Hua Mulan The Chinese legend of Hua Mulan centers on a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take the place of her elderly father in the army. The story can be traced back to The Ballad of Mulan. The earliest accounts of the legend state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty. However another version reports that Mulan was requested as a concubine by Emperor Yang of Sui China. The film may take place even later, as it prominently features landmarks such as the Forbidden City which was not constructed until the 15th Century. On the other hand, at the time of Northern Wei, the Xiongnu (Huns) had been already absorbed into Chinese culture. However, according to the style of dress (traditional Han clothing), the film takes place sometime in the 15th century or before. The Fireworks featured in the movie indicate that the movie is set during the Sui dynasty. Although Mulan is set in north China, where the dominant language is Mandarin, the Disney film uses the Cartonese pronunciation, "Fa", of her family name. In Mandarin her name is pronounced "Hua". Disney's Mulan casts the main character the same way as the original legend, a tomboyish daughter of a respected veteran, somewhat troubled by being the "sophisticated lady" her society expects her to be after failing the matchmaker's training, dishonoring Mulan's family. In the original Mulan legend, Mulan uses her father's name Li and not the name "Ping" and she was never discovered as a girl, unlike the film. Also in the original legend, Mulan went to war for her father, because her father was getting too old to fight, and had no sons to take his place. However, in the film, it was added that her father's leg was injured. Language The script used for most of the text in Mulan is Traditional Chinese, which is no longer used in daily life on Mainland China (but still used in Hong Kong, Macau, and many overseas Chinese communities), although people are still able to read it. The traditional name for the leaders of the Central Asian Huns was Shanyu. The war between the Huns and China was real, called the Sino-Xiongnu War. When Mulan masquerades as a man, her name is a pun in Chinese. Her first name is "Ping" (瓶), meaning pot, and her surname (placed first using Chinese naming conventions) means Flower (花). Together they make "Flowerpot", a Chinese term meaning an effeminate man. According to Orpheus in Mayfair and Other Stories and Sketches by Maurice Baring, "Ping" in Chinese means soldier-man, and if you wish to express your contempt for a man there is no word in the whole of the Chinese language which expresses it so fully and so emphatically as the word Ping. Chi Fu's name literally means, in Chinese, "to bully". Allusions *Mushu calls Mulan "Sleeping Beauty" when he wakes her up. Trivia *When Ling loses his teeth after getting punched in the face, you see him later with all of his teeth back. *During the trek to the pass and during the battle, the number of soldiers increases and decreases multiple times. *Mulan was the first movie created outside LA, California, created by Disney's Studio in Florida. *Mulan was almost a PG movie but went by different standards to get G. *During the avalanche, Mulan's helmet gets blown off and Shang's horse disappears but are both seen later in the film. *It took 5 years to make Mulan. *The movie was almost a short movie called China Doll until Robert San Souci came along. *Mulan was originally supposed to be bethrothed to a wealthy man but this was changed so that it wouldn't seem she was joining the army for selfish reasons. *When the troops discover that the Huns destroyed a village in the Tun Shao Pass, numerous dead bodies of soldiers can be seen, making Mulan the only Disney movie that shows numerous dead bodies. *Mulan awards, by far, the Disney highest relatively 'on screen' bodycount since the avalanche implies the death of thousands of Hun's leaving only a few survivors. :Live Action Film *The character Chen Honghui (played by Yoson An) takes the place of Li Shang in the 1998 film. *Mulan's family name Fa has been changed to Hua, for cultural authenticity. *Mulan is an only-child as shown in the 1998 film, while here she is said to have a sister named Hua Xiu (played by Xana Tang). *Gong Li's evil witch character Xian Lang was created entirely for the film. *The villain character Bori Khan (played by Jason Scott Lee) takes the place of Shan Yu in the 1998 film. *Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan in Mulan (1998), expressed interest in appearing in the film as Fa-Li, Mulan's mother. *A team of casting directors visited five continents and saw nearly 1,000 candidates of Chinese origin for the role of Mulan. Their requirements were credible martial arts skills, the ability to speak English, and star quality. *Mulan reputedly has a budget of $290M, which would make it the most expensive movie ever helmed by a female director, Niki Caro. *To be released three months prior to the 22nd anniversary of Mulan (1998). *Originally intended to release on November 2nd, 2018, but was moved to December 20th, 2019 to avoid clashing with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018). Because the film had been falling behind in production, it was moved a second time to March 27th, 2020 to avoid clashing with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). *Characters from the 1998 animated film are given Asian/Chinese names. The protagonist Fa Mulan is changed to be Hua Mulan, the main antagonist Shan Yu is being changed to Bori Khan, the deuteragonist Li Shang is being changed to Chen Honghui, Chien Po is simplified to Po, and Fa Zhou, Mulan's father, is changed to Hua Zhou. *Ang Lee was offered to direct the film, but declined. *In the season three premiere of Adult Swim's popular animated sci-fi/comedy, Rick and Morty (2013), a 1998 McDonald's cross promotion of the original Mulan (1998) is heavily alluded to. This cross promotion, a Mulan-inspired Szechuan dipping sauce, immediately gained internet attention as fans of the show demanded the fast food chain bring the sauce back. It is now rumored that McDonald's will bring the sauce back for the live-action version of Mulan. *The filmmakers debated whether to include the songs from the original movie in the same full on musical format, similar to Beauty and the Beast. *Eighth live action reboot of a Disney animated feature film, and the first one to release in the 2020s. *Eddie Murphy was offered, but unfortunately declined to reprise his role as Mushu from Mulan. *The film's cast features Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Jason Scott Lee. Yen and Li have played the character of Chen Zhen, first popularized by Bruce Lee, while Jason Scott Lee is most known for having directly played Bruce Lee in Dragon The Bruce Lee story. *This is Yifei Liu and Jet Li's first collaboration since The Forbidden Kingdom. *Jason Scott Lee previously appeared alongside Chris Sanders (who provided the vocal effects of Little Brother in the original animated film) in the animated film Lilo & Stitch (2002), which was also from Disney. *This is the second live-action remake of an animated Disney film Jason Scott Lee has appeared in. He was the star of Disney's first live action remake, The Jungle Book (1994), where he played the role of Mowgli. He also featured as David in Lilo & Stitch (2002) and its sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005). *Both Donnie Yen and Jet Li were considered for the same role of Chirrut in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), in which the former played the role. They appear in this film together. *This is the second live action movie version of "Mulan". The first was a Chinese production based not on the animated film but the epic Ballad of Mulan dating from the 6th century Mulan (2009) starring Wei Zhao as the lead character and directed by Jingle Ma. *In 2010, Chuck Russell was signed on to direct and Ziyi Zhang was to play Mulan. However the film was put on hold and these two left. *Donnie Yen and Jet Li worked together in two films Once Upon a Time in China II and Hero. *Donnie Yen and Jason Scott Lee worked together in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Sword of Destiny. *Walt Disney Pictures' eighth live-action adaption of an animated classic to be a remake after Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Dumbo (2019), Aladdin (2019), and The Lion King (2019). This does not include Alice in Wonderland (2010) which was completely different and not related to original 1951 classic; the same said for Christopher Robin (2018) which is a sequel to Winnie the Pooh (2011) as opposed to being a reboot, as well as for Pete's Dragon (2016), because it's not a reboot of the 1977 original. *The character of Mushu from the original animated film has been cut from the live-action adaptation. This is because Disney faced a lot of backlash from Chinese audiences when the 1998 film was released, as many found the character of Mushu to be disrespectful to and a mockery of Chinese traditions and beliefs. *So far this will be the first live action film not to have a soundtrack. all information on the Mulan (Film) came from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Mulan Category:MOVIES